Ricky's Story
by Im-On-A-Roll
Summary: OC story. It turns out Lenny isn't the only great white vegetarian who's afraid to reveal his true character to his father. Please read and review!


**Author's Note:** Before the story begins, I'd like to ask my fellow authors a question. From now on if any of you, I think you know who you are, want to use plots, characters, and scripts that are similar (if not completely the same) to mine, I'd appreciate it if you ask me first. I mean this in the nicest possible way, but as much as I love having you enjoy my work, I think it'd be better if you all did your work your own way. That's all. Enjoy!

Ricky's Story

Ricky, an eight-year-old great white, was feeling bored and lonely. It was a nice day out, but he was cooped up in his room with only his computer for company. He had plenty of friends, but they often quarreled because Ricky didn't always approve of the games they wanted to play. Of course they wouldn't have to quarrel if he could just tell them his secret, which was so deep and dark that even his father, who was the best friend he could ask for, didn't know. Still, his friends were disagreeable and he'd rather be inside bored to tears than out there harassing innocent fish with them.

Today, Ricky's uncle Marcus was watching him… if that was what you could call it. Marcus meant well but he wasn't the most fun person to be around. He was fat and lazy and didn't want to do anything but sit on the couch, watch the sports channel, and fall asleep within the hour. Ricky would've been better off by himself, but his father would never allow it because he was still only a little kid.

But Ricky liked being alone. It was the only time he could really be himself. You see, his deep dark secret was a little more serious than secrets most eight-year-olds conceal. Ricky may have been young, but he was smart for his age and he knew what was expected from sharks. And let's just say he didn't exactly live up to those expectations. He also knew that sharks weren't the most forgiving creatures in the sea. It was for this reason that he was afraid of telling anyone what he really was, even his own father, as much as he loved him.

Ricky's thirty-five-year-old father, Garrison, was his best friend and the only family he ever knew. He'd raised Ricky alone since he was a pup and had always put him before anything else. He was everything an eight-year-old boy looked for in a father: friendly, handsome, playful, hard working, and kind (he was not a member of Don Lino's mob or any part of the mafia for that matter). Plus, he was an easy-going father, mainly because Ricky was all but a troublemaker. But sometimes people pitied Ricky for not having a mother. He actually couldn't care less about the subject because Garrison was a perfect father and did an excellent job at raising him on his own. Even though Ricky never gave it much thought, unbeknownst to him his mother, Hope, had walked out on them when he was only a few weeks old. She and Garrison were once madly in love and very much inseparable, but Garrison was the only one who wanted to have kids. Ricky's birth had been a surprise to them both, but not a good surprise in Hope's case. She knew that as a mother it was her duty to love Ricky, but she just couldn't. Plus, it was clear to everyone that Garrison was the only one baby Ricky wanted around seeing as his presence would always make Ricky stop crying. So Hope decided it best to make everyone happy and to sneak away in the middle of the night, leaving the responsibilities of a single parent to Garrison. But Garrison had learned from this experience. He had lost Hope, but he hadn't lost hope. He'd learned to be twice as loving, twice as devoted, and to be both a father and mother to his son. Garrison was a plumber and as such he was very much a man's man, even though his rugged good looks, masculine physique, and superior plumbing skills rarely failed to catch the ladies' eyes. Ricky was proud of his father and was happy that it was always just the two of them. There was just one problem about Garrison: nice as he was, he was still a great white shark and that meant his appetite still consisted of fish. Ricky had never actually seen him kill anything, and he doubted he actually did that part, but watching him dine on the body of a once living fish was just grotesque. Ricky couldn't help but wonder if his relationship with his father would still be the same if Garrison knew his secret. Sounds familiar, right?

He felt ashamed of himself for what he was. He hated keeping who he was a secret, but he was convinced that keeping everything he held dear depended on it. As much as he hated to admit it, once or twice in his life he'd actually thought about running away. He quickly shut that idea out. Garrison had worked too hard for too long to take care of him and those eight years were not going to be put to waste. So he stayed put and pretended to be what everyone expected him to be.

Today these thoughts and feelings were haunting him as much as ever. He sat at his computer wondering how in the world he was ever going to open up to his father and be loved for who he was. Then it occurred to him. Even though his situation was rare, surely he couldn't be the only one like him in the world. And what better way to find out than on the computer? After making sure his door was completely shut, he opened a new window, got onto the Internet, and typed in the search box the two words that perfectly summed up his predicament.

Vegetarian sharks.

Then he pressed the "enter" key and nervously waited for the computer to load. Surprisingly, several topics appeared on the screen and each one was about the same shark: a teenaged great white named Lenny. Intrigued by what he saw, Ricky clicked on the first thing he saw. It was a news article entitled, "Son of a Mobster Reveals his Great White Secret". Ricky read the entire article from top to bottom. After reading only the first part, Ricky realized that this Lenny guy had lived an incredibly similar life to his own. Lenny was a rare vegetarian shark who had once been misunderstood by all, including his own family. He'd lived in fear of losing his father's love and respect. This was already just like Ricky, except that Lenny's father was a mob boss, one Don Lino.

Don Lino. Why did that name ring a bell? Willing to find out, Ricky scrolled down the article until he found a picture that provided his answer. Ricky remembered now. About two years ago, he'd seen Lino's picture in a newspaper Garrison had been reading. Ricky could understand why Lenny would have such a hard time opening up to his father. Don Lino was a huge and angry shark with a stern face and eyes that were like ice. He didn't strike Ricky as fatherly at all. He couldn't imagine someone like Lino saying, "Come to Daddy," gently to a toddler or comforting a sick or injured little boy. He certainly couldn't see Lino as the listening or forgiving type. If anything, Lino struck Ricky as a truly old school shark who would never display love to any shark unless they too were old school. He continued reading the article and discovered that that impression had been true. Lino had been far from accepting when he found out his son was different from other sharks. It had broken Lenny's heart and he had run away out of remorse and fear.

"Poor Lenny," Ricky said out loud.

By this time, Ricky decided maybe it was best not to reveal his true character to Garrison. But he kept reading the article and changed his mind slightly when he read that Lenny's story had ended happily. Lino and Lenny had made up and they were closer now than ever before.

Ricky was puzzled now. Should he tell Garrison or shouldn't he? Before he could even consider it, he heard his father's deep voice speaking outside his bedroom.

"He's home from work," Ricky said to himself, still struggling within. He opened his door and went to the living room to greet his father, who was standing over the couch trying to wake Marcus up. The TV was on, as expected, and it was still on the sports channel.

"Marc?" Garrison was trying not to laugh at his napping younger brother. "Marcus, wake up."

Ricky hid his confusion with a welcoming smile. "Hi, Dad."

Garrison looked up. "There's my Ricky." He picked Ricky up and gave him a hug. "Were you good for Uncle Marcus? Or better yet, was he good for you?"

Ricky chuckled. "Yes and yes."

Garrison looked back down at his brother, wondering how to wake him up. Then he gave Ricky a sneaky smile. "You think you can help me out?" he asked with a wink.

Ricky winked back, he was way ahead of his father. He quietly approached his sleeping uncle, trying not to laugh, and inched his way up to him so that they could almost touch noses. And then…

"WAKE UP, UNCLE MARCUS!"

Marcus woke up so hard that he bumped his head on the couch's arm. "Oof!"

Garrison laughed, but Ricky acted like it'd never even happened. "Hi, Uncle Marcus. Sleep well?"

Marcus rubbed his aching head and put on a fake smile. "Like father, like son," he grumbled.

"Rise and shine, bro," said Garrison. "Time for you to get going so Ricky and I can get a jumpstart on the weekend. Thanks for watching him."

"Not a problem, Gar," Marcus assured. "He was perfect. It was like he wasn't even here."

"Yeah, the way you were sleeping I bet it was," Garrison replied sarcastically. "Thanks again."

"You got it."

After Marcus left, Garrison turned back to Ricky. "Ready for another fun-filled weekend, Ricky?"

"You bet," Ricky smiled.

"Then let it begin now," Garrison replied, holding up a paper lunch bag. "I brought you a little surprise that's for _after_ dinner."

Ricky's happy mood suddenly darkened. He knew there was something in that bag that he was going to have to pretend to like. He took the bag from his father and looked inside. He nearly gagged. It was half full of dead fish that looked freshly caught and freshly killed. He pretended to be pleased. "Yay…" he said unenthusiastically. "Fish."

"Swedish fish," said Garrison. "Those are hard to come by, you know. Monty caught them today and he thought you might like a little snack. They came here all the way from Sweden, so they're imported. Lucky kid. Be sure to thank Monty when you see him next."

Ricky was feeling more nauseous by the second. Not only because he was holding a bag of dead fish but because his father's very pleasant best friend had killed them.

He still kept his fake smile on. "I will."

"And be careful not to eat them all at once," Garrison warned.

"Oh, I won't, I promise you that," Ricky said honestly.

Minutes later it was dinnertime. Garrison had prepared salmon, and or rather he stacked a huge pile of dead whole salmon on a large plate and placed them on the table. The site of which sickened Ricky completely. He picked up just one salmon, nauseated by the cold scaly touch, and looked down at it trying to find a way to make it look like he'd eaten it.

Garrison wasn't looking. He was too busy actually enjoying his dinner. Ricky watched him as he hungrily picked up one or two salmon at a time and put them on his plate. Garrison (unlike Frankie) had table manners, but the fact that he wasn't bothered about putting dead fish in his mouth was just repulsive.

Ricky sadly looked back down at the fish on his own plate. He sure wasn't going to eat it. Maybe now was the best time to tell Garrison that he was a vegetarian. He looked at Garrison, who was still hocking down salmon, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Dad?"

Garrison looked at him. "Hm?" he said with his mouth full of salmon.

Ricky's mouth refused to produce words from that point on. He couldn't stop thinking about Lenny's story. What if Garrison really was just like Lino? Sure, there were already several differences between the two, internal and external. Lino had all the bad qualities. Inwardly he was ruthless, unforgiving, unwilling to listen, and self-serving. Outwardly he was horrifyingly muscular and had teeth like knives and cold, furious eyes that said, "Talk and I'll rip you apart." Though he was middle aged, he had managed to maintain a fair amount of his once spectacular looks, and he probably would still be handsome if he smiled every once in a while. Either way, he wasn't the type you could easily tell a secret to. Ricky knew that just by looking at his picture.

Garrison, however, had all the good qualities. He was obviously good-natured, friendly as could be, and had no criminal record. Even so there were a few similarities between him and Lino, at least physical ones. He had blue eyes, though his were kinder and were more like sapphires than ice. Plus, there was the physique. Garrison was certainly well built, but he wasn't over-the-top macho like Lino was. One could look at Garrison and easily assume that he was actually rather plump as a kid, unlike Lino who may have just been born muscular. But now, at age thirty-five, Garrison had trimmed down and bulked up and his fat had become muscle mass. He had broad shoulders, a thick chest, and long, bulky fins that all added to his handsome face.

Then, of course, there was one major similarity between the two grown males that truly determined how Garrison would handle his son's secret, and that similarity was at the moment on his plate. Ultimately it didn't matter how nice Garrison seemed, he was still a shark and sharks were expected to eat fish. One was simply not normal just because they refused to eat fish. That was pretty much rule number one of sharkhood, whether in the mafia or not.

"Uh, nothing," Ricky said shyly.

After a few second of silence, Garrison noticed Ricky's untouched salmon. "You haven't eaten, Ricky. Are you feeling okay?"

Ricky nodded sheepishly, not looking up from his full plate. "I'm fine. I'm just… not really hungry."

Wondering if Ricky was sick, Garrison held his hand to his son's forehead. "Hm, well you don't have a fever."

"I'm not sick, Dad," said Ricky. "I just don't have any appetite."

Garrison didn't want to pressure his son, but he could tell that Ricky was hiding something. Rather than start an interrogation, he decided to let Ricky have a little time to confess whatever it was.

"In that case, you're excused. As long as this isn't an excuse to go fill up on those Swedish fish." He said the last statement with a small laugh.

Ricky half smiled. "No, it's not that. I promise."

"Alright, go on ahead," said Garrison. "If you feel hungry for anything else, let me know."

"Okay."

Ricky left the table and quietly went to his room. The bag of Swedish fish was hidden under his bed. He wasn't going to eat them or anything else that his father had picked out for him. His normal way of getting dinner was sneaking out after dark and eating the kelp that was growing outside. That could certainly wait because he truly wasn't hungry, but right now he still had a bigger case on his fins than lack of appetite. He couldn't live up to the expectations of a shark but he also didn't want his father to think badly of him. All this insanity and confusion was too much for an eight-year-old. What was a poor kid to do?

He spent the next hour or so on the computer, rereading the article about Lenny word for word trying to decide if he should open up to his father or keep his greatest secret a secret for the rest of his life. As he struggled to decide, he bore in mind that although Lenny's secret had given him the most unfair life imaginable, he had gotten a happy ending and Don Lino, stubborn as he appeared, had admitted himself wrong. If someone like Lino was actually willing to repent, a decent shark like Garrison would surely do the same.

The thing that most helped Ricky decide was a direct quote from Lenny at the bottom of the article page. Lenny had clearly stated in an interview sometime after Lino had learned to accept him. It read the following:

"_All my life, I thought something was wrong with me. It took me a long time, and a lot of convincing, to realize that I wasn't the one with the problem. My father had been wrong, and he actually admitted it! He knows now that he should've been happy with what he had instead of dwelling on what he didn't. I'd say we both learned from that mess. I learned that nothing's wrong with who I am, and my dad learned to love what he has. Both are lessons that everyone should learn. I don't know how many sharks out there can relate to me, but I know that everyone wants to feel loved for who they are. If anyone with a secret like mine is out there, I hope they learn that they shouldn't be ashamed of who they are, and they shouldn't let other people make them feel worthless. They should feel free to be themselves, especially with their families. And my advice to them: don't ever run away. I tried that once and all it did was create new problems. But I'm back home now and I've never been happier in my life. Finally I can be myself and my parents both love me. I hope everyone else gets the same chance." _

It was like Lenny was speaking directly to Ricky. That quote certainly had an affect on the young boy's decision. He knew now that even if he lost everything he held dear, he should feel free to express who and what he was. He knew he could be risking everything for this, but he couldn't mask who he was anymore. He had to be himself and he had to know if Garrison was truly as loving as he seemed. He looked at his clock. Eight o'clock. His father should still be awake. So Ricky nervously left his room, hearing his heart beating like crazy in his ears.

Garrison was seated on the couch in the living room watching TV when Ricky found him.

"Hi, Dad," Ricky said in a shaking voice.

Garrison looked up from the screen. A warm smile broke out on his face and he patted his fin on the seat cushion next to the one he was on, signaling that he wanted Ricky to join him. The boy swam up to the couch and took a seat, subsequently feeling Garrison's fin wrapped around his shoulders.

"_So far so good,"_ Ricky thought.

"Feeling better, Son?" Garrison asked.

"A bit," said Ricky. At the moment, that was all his nerves were letting him say.

"Did you have something you wanted to tell me?" Garrison continued.

"No," Ricky lied. What the heck did he say that for? "I-I mean yes… Well, kinda, but…"

Garrison chuckled. "Which is it, Ricky?"

Ricky shut his eyes and sighed deeply, trying to get all the confusion out at once. "Yes, Dad. There is something I wanna tell you. Something I should've told you earlier."

"Oh I hope that doesn't mean you did something you know you shouldn't have," said Garrison, now sounding a bit more serious.

"No," said Ricky. "Well… kinda, but…" Ricky furiously face palmed himself. "Why can't I just say it?"

Garrison put a fin under his son's chin and moved his head upwards so that their eyes met. "Ricky, if it's really important, you don't have to be afraid. I'm your father, you can tell me anything."

"_I really hope that's true,"_ Ricky thought.

"Now, whatever it is, go ahead and tell me. I'll do my best to understand," Garrison continued.

Ricky glared longingly into his father's gentle and beautiful eyes. They were glistening with honesty and love, much like they always did. Ricky got a good, long look at them while he still could, because if Garrison should be anything like Lino those eyes wouldn't remain warm and tender for much longer. Then he lowered his head and closed his eyes, ready to admit everything and let the chips fall where they may.

"I'm not who you think I am, Dad," he said.

He imagined the look on Garrison's face reflected confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not what everyone expects me to be."

"What's that?" Garrison asked.

"A shark," Ricky admitted. "I had no appetite at dinner because I never do. I don't… No, I _can't_ eat fish, Dad. It makes me sick. I feel sick just watching you eat it. The only thing I can eat is kelp and anything that has kelp in it. I'm not a killer and I'm not a predator, and this isn't just a phase. I won't ever be a killer, I'll only just be a vegetarian. I know you're gonna be mad, but it's who I am." He could sense that tears would be coming soon. "I understand if you never wanna see me again. Go ahead and throw me out."

Ricky was ready to face the consequences. He was ready to look at his dad's disappointed face and he was ready to be thrown out into the cold and face the world on his own. But what happened instead was astonishing and completely un-Lino-like.

"Throw you out?" Garrison asked in his deep but gentle voice.

Ricky reluctantly opened his eyes and faced his dad, whose face didn't display any hint of disappointment whatsoever.

"Well yeah," Ricky said. "Aren't you ashamed of me? Aren't I an embarrassment to you and all sharks everywhere?"

"Of course not," Garrison replied. "Why would you think something like that?"

"Because we're sharks, remember? We're supposed to be predators. And I always thought that if you knew I was a vegetarian, you'd give me up and forget all about me," Ricky said both honestly and tearfully.

"Aw, Ricky," Garrison said, pulling his only child into a warm, loving embrace.

No longer confused by his father's unfailing love, Ricky huddled against Garrison's broad shoulder and cried. Despite his sad face, his tears were mostly happy because he was relieved to be in his father's warm fins instead of wandering around outside feeling cold, unloved and abandoned.

"I wouldn't give you up if my life depended on it," said Garrison. "It doesn't matter what you eat, you mean more to me than anything else in the world. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Every word was true. Garrison had already lost one loved one, just as Ricky had lost the love of a parent. Neither of them needed another heartbreak. Ricky sobbed, now convinced that he couldn't ask for a better dad.

"And if it helps," Garrison continued, "I'm really proud of you for admitting this to me. I want you to be happy, Ricky, and living a lie for the rest of your life would've hurt you."

"Thanks so much, Dad, for not being like Don Lino," said Ricky.

Just hearing that name put Garrison in an uncomfortable position. "No good parent would follow in his example. He made a lot of mistakes with his sons and look what happened to them. Power-hungry tightwads like him don't deserve to have kids. They only care about making themselves happy and looking good in front of their little stooges. Real parents have to ignore their own desires and put their kids before anything else."

"Then thanks for being the best of the best," Ricky smiled.

Garrison affectionately ruffled his son's head. "And if me eating fish really makes you sick, then I guess I can change my appetite a bit."

Ricky was relieved to hear that. "Thanks, Dad."

"Just so you know, though, Monty's the one who really gets pleasure out of the killing part," said Garrison. "I only put up with it because he's my friend. I'll remember to tell him there's gonna have to be some limits in the future."

It seemed the father and son had a lot more in common than Ricky ever thought possible. That was the least of the pleasures though. Just the simple fact that Garrison was naturally kind, humble, and unconditionally loving made Ricky feel blessed. Nothing the youngster could ever do would make his father love him less.

Pretty soon, Ricky was feeling drowsy. This became apparent when he let out a long, quiet yawn. It had been a log day and it was getting close to his bedtime. But Garrison didn't want to let him go and Ricky didn't want to be parted from father's warmth. Garrison chuckled and, with Ricky still clinging lovingly to him, lay down on the couch's seat cushions. Ricky yawned again and smiled as he lay peacefully on his Garrison's thick chest, which was unquestionably his favorite pillow and mattress combo. And Garrison's bulky fins, which were thrown tenderly around Ricky's body, were far warmer than any bedspread. It was astonishing that such a muscular shark could have such a gentle touch. Who needed a bed when Garrison was always willing to offer company and comfort?

Ricky closed his eyes and felt sleep coming across him. But he wouldn't dare fall asleep without saying the four words that a father as kind as his deserved to be told.

"I love you, Dad," he said tiredly.

Just before dozing off, he felt his father kissing him on the forehead and heard his deep voice say, "I love you too."

Moments afterward, Ricky was sound asleep. Garrison smiled at the child that was sleeping adorably on his chest. He felt more love than he'd ever felt before because now that he knew Ricky's secret, it was like he was meeting him for the first time. There would never again be any more secrets hidden from each other. Finally they could safely tell each other anything. They would spend the entire weekend enjoying each other's company, but for now Ricky needed rest.

"Sweet dreams, Ricky," Garrison whispered.

_The End. _


End file.
